The History of Postage Rates
in the United States
Compiled by Andrew K. Dart
Effective date Per ½ Ounce  
March 3, 1863 3¢  
March 3, 1883 2¢  
  Per Ounce    
July 1, 1885 2¢    
       
Remarks
November 3, 1917 3¢    
Higher rate during the war
July 1, 1919 2¢      
      Postcards  
Sometime in 1898     1¢  
July 6, 1932 3¢    
January 1, 1952     2¢
August 1, 1958 4¢   3¢  
January 7, 1963 5¢   4¢
ZIP Code begins
January 7, 1968 6¢   5¢  
May 16, 1971 8¢   6¢  
March 2, 1974 10¢   8¢  
    Each  Additional  Ounce    
September 14, 1975 10¢ 9¢ 7¢  
December 31, 1975 13¢ 11¢ 9¢  
May 29, 1978 15¢ 13¢ 10¢
"A"  stamps
March 22, 1981 18¢ 17¢ 12¢
"B"  stamps
November 1, 1981 20¢ 17¢ 13¢
"C"  stamps
October 1, 1983      
ZIP+4  is  implemented
February 17, 1985 22¢ 17¢ 14¢
"D"  stamps
April 3, 1988 25¢ 20¢ 15¢
"E"  stamps
February 3, 1991 29¢ 23¢ 19¢
"F"  stamps
January 1, 1995 32¢ 23¢ 20¢
"G"  stamps
January 10, 1999 33¢ 22¢ 20¢
"H"  stamps
January 7, 2001 34¢ 21¢ 20¢
Nondenominated stamps
July 1, 2001 34¢ 23¢ 21¢  
June 30, 2002 37¢ 23¢ 23¢
Flag and Antique Toy stamps
January 8, 2006 39¢ 24¢ 24¢  
May 14, 2007 41¢ 17¢ 26¢
May 12, 2008 42¢ 17¢ 27¢  
May 11, 2009 44¢ 17¢ 28¢  
         


Clarification -- or perhaps not:  Earlier I had listed the proposed new [2008] additional-ounce rate at 17 cents; however, that seemed surprisingly low, so I took another look at page eight of this document and concluded that the new additional-ounce rate appeared to be 20 cents.  Upon further review, it looks like the rate for each additional ounce really is 17 cents, according to this document.  (A tip of the hat to Mark Tomas.)

 Sources

Postage rates:  My father — a freelance bookkeeper for many years — kept a list like this, and I made a copy of his list sometime in the 1970's, and then kept updating it myself every time there was a rate increase.  Eventually I converted it into this HTML document.

Information about "A" through "H" stamps came from the US Postal Rate Commission.

ZIP is an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, according to Unicover.

ZIP Code began July 1, 1963, according to The Postal Service History Page.

History of post card rates came from the US Postal Rate Commission, which has this to say about post card rates:  "The post card rate has remained at 20 cents since 1995.  On January 10, 1999, however, a one cent charge for the card itself was implemented, in addition to the postage.  Putting a 20 cent stamp on a private card avoids the one cent card charge."

Airmail rates are not shown here; however, it is worth noting that domestic airmail was eliminated as a separate subclass of mail service, effective May 1, 1977.*

ZIP+4 was announced in 1978 and implemented October 1, 1983 according to Unicover.

 Editor's Comment:   ZIP+4 was supposed to make mail delivery faster and hold down costs.  Is delivery any faster?  (It's called "snail mail" for a reason.)  Since nine-digit ZIP codes were introduced, there have been nine rate increases (or ten, depending on how you count them), and another one is pending.

Domestic Mail Rate History:  This document shows that ZIP+4 does hold down the cost of postage... but only for commercial bulk-rate customers.  In other words, it makes unsolicited junk mail easier to send, but it doesn't reduce the cost of a first-class letter at all.

Along the way I also found a complete Glossary of postal terms [PDF file] and a Postage Rate Calculator.
Broken link repaired 6/15/2009 -- thanks to Nils Carlson.


Complete Guide to Nondenominated Postage.
Broken link repaired 12/7/2008 -- thanks to David Kaufman.


News items regarding rate increases

Post office posts $1 billion loss.  The Postal Service had a net loss of more than a billion dollars in the third quarter of the fiscal year, the agency said Wednesday [8/6/2008].  For the quarter ended June 30, the loss was $1.1 billion, which officials blamed on reduced mail volume in the slowed economy, coupled with rapidly rising transport costs because of high fuel prices.

Postmaster General Recommends Cutting Back Mail Delivery to Five Days.  Massive deficits could force the post office to cut out one day of mail delivery, the postmaster general told Congress on Wednesday [1/28/2009], in asking lawmakers to lift the requirement that the agency deliver mail six days a week.  If the change happens, that doesn't necessarily mean an end to Saturday mail delivery.  Previous post office studies have looked at the possibility of skipping some other day when mail flow is light, such as Tuesday.

Postmaster General:  Mail days may need to be cut.  Massive deficits could force the post office to cut out one day of mail delivery, the postmaster general told Congress on Wednesday [1/28/2009], in asking lawmakers to lift the requirement that the agency deliver mail six days a week.

The Editor states the obvious...
 Reduced service for the same price is the same as a price increase.

Postmaster's pay to be probed.  Congress will hold a hearing next month into why Postmaster General John E. Potter has gotten a nearly 40 percent pay raise since 2006 and was awarded a six-figure incentive bonus last year, even as the U.S. Postal Service faces a multibillion-dollar shortfall that threatens a day of mail delivery.

Collectors Discover Flag Stamp Has 14 Stripes.  When an astute stamp collector recently discovered that one of the Old Glorys in the U.S. Postal Service's "Flags 24/7" series appears to have 14 stripes, it was bound to send a wave of excitement through the philatelic community.  "Is there any icon better-known to Americans than their own flag?" said Fred Baumann, a spokesman for the American Philatelic Society.  "This is something somebody should have caught along the way."

Post Service slashes 25,000 jobs this year.  The U.S. Postal Service has slashed 25,000 jobs this year as it struggles to reduce a massive budget deficit.  Postmaster General John Potter said Monday that agency employment is below 635,000, down from about 800,000 in 1999.  Thousands of carrier routes have also been eliminated as mail volume declines.

Idaho Courier Survives Postal Cost-Cutting.  When the Postal Service began scouring the map to help close a potential $6.5 billion budget deficit, an auditor's eye settled on central Idaho.  The agency had been spending $46,000 a year for a challenging small-plane route that served about 20 addresses secluded in the roadless wilderness of the northern Rocky Mountains.

Official announcement of the rate increase scheduled for May 11, 2009.

News coverage of the most recent announcement:

Stamp prices going up 2 cents to 44 cents in May.  The post office will get an extra 2 cents worth when you mail a letter starting in May.  The U.S. Postal Service announced today that the price of a first-class stamp will rise to 44 cents on May 11.  That gives plenty of time to stock up on Forever Stamps, which will continue to sell at the current 42-cent rate until the increase occurs.  They will remain valid in the future regardless of rate hikes.

Stamps for U.S. letters to rise to 44 cents in May.  The price of a one-ounce first-class stamp will rise to 44 cents on May 11, the U.S. Postal Service said on Tuesday [2/10/2009].

Editor's note:
Some news items on the day of the announcement included glaring errors, as shown below:

Postage Rates Go Up on May 1 (sic).  The price of a first-class stamp will go up 2 cents to 44 cents on May 1, (sic) 2009, the Postal Service announced.  Prices for other mailing services — Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services (including Parcel Post), and Extra Services — will also change.

USPS Jacks Up Price of First-Class Mail Stamps.  The United States Postal service announced price hikes for mailing services today, including a 2-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail stamp.  Those stamps will be 44 cents with the price increase.  The changes will go into effect on May 11, which is in line with the annual review of postal mailing prices that are adjusted each may. (sic)

As postage hike looms, the thrifty are buying Forever stamp.  Between the economy and the rising cost of postage, people are looking for ways to cut corners, and that has resulted in an increase of sales of the post office?s Forever stamp.

Stamps costing two cents more Monday.  Get ready to shell out a couple more pennies to mail a letter.  Starting Monday, the cost of a stamp goes up to 44 cents.  Those who bought Forever stamps before Monday's increase will pay the lower rate.  Postal officials estimate the increase will cost the average household $3 a year.

Forever stamp
The official page about Forever stamps.

Current prices for domestic and international services.

See also Prices and Fees.

Note:  Links on this web site are provided as a public service.
This web site does not accept paid advertising.

Last year's big news:
 USPS Announces The "Forever" Stamp:  Is It Worth Your $0.39?  Yesterday [2/26/2007], the United States Postal Service announced the introduction of a "forever" postage stamp.  Here's how it works:  whenever you buy a first class postage stamp, it will no longer be marked with a cash denomination on it like current stamps are.  Instead, it will merely say "First Class" on it.  Once you buy it, you can use it at any point in the future.

Think twice before hoarding 'forever' stamps you might never use.  The stamps are called "forever" because they will be good for any future single-piece first-class envelope weighing an ounce or less, no matter how prices might change in the future.

Additional information — Some of which is now outdated:

Postal regulators back 'forever' stamp.  Say goodbye to those pesky 1- and 2-cent stamps that used to clutter up desks and purses every time the price of mailing a letter went up.  A new "forever" stamp — good for mailing a letter no matter how much rates rise — was recommended Monday [2/26/2007] by the independent Postal Regulatory Commission.  The panel also called for a 2-cent increase in first-class rates to 41 cents, a penny less than the post office had sought.

2-cent increase in stamp prices urged.  A postal regulatory commission recommended a 2-cent increase in the cost of mailing a letter today and urged the Post Office to introduce a "forever" stamp valid for first-class postage even when rates rise.  The recommendation to increase postage to 41 cents was a penny less than the postal service had requested.

Postage Commission Recommends 2-Cent Rate Hike.  The recommendation to increase postage to 41 cents was a penny less than the postal service had requested.  The commission recommended a 26-cent rate for post cards, also a penny less than the Post Office had sought.  The first ounce of a first-class mail would rise to 41 cents, but each additional ounce would cost 17 cents under the proposal.

PRC Issues Recommendations on the Postal Rate Case.  On Feb. 26 the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) issued its recommendations on the rate case filed by the U.S. Postal Service last May.  For the most part, the PRC agreed with the changes proposed in the case, though it did recommend raising the cost of a first-class stamp by two cents, to $0.41, rather than three cents.

Recommended Rate Schedules [PDF].

U.S. Postal Service Rates for Letters and Postcards. [PDF]

U.S. Postal Service-Summary. [PDF]


Other news, notes and commentary

According to the access logs here at akdart.com, many people are linking to this page (that's good!) and some are using it as an educational tool in schools, which is wonderful.  This chart seems to be an easy way to show kids what inflation does to the value of a dollar.  If you would like to dig deeper, compare these postage prices to the US Consumer Price Index from 1913 to today.

Thanks to a reader named Marilyn who sent in this information:

"According to 'The Source -- A Guidebook of American Genealogy' by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, there are postcard postage rates earlier than 1926.  In their 1997 edition, page 13:  'Penny postcards were manufactured after 1898, when postal regulations established the penny postcard rate, while cards requiring two cents of postage date from 1873 to 1898.'  My postcards have 1¢ stamps on them up through 1928."  She also says postcards have 2¢ stamps on them beginning in 1929.

This seems to contradict the information on the Postal Rate Commission's web page, so I have included only the 1898 date in the table above.

Thanks also to Jim Cropper, evidently quite a stamp collector, who referred me to the USPS Rate Case filings, which show the Proposed Price Adjustments for Spring 2007, and the USPS Postal Bulletin, available cover-to-cover in Adobe PDF format bi-weekly.


Updated 2/29/2008:

Today I received an informative email from Lewis Bussey, president of the United Postal Stationery Society.  Since he is evidently an authority on postal rate history, and since there is plenty of room on this page, I'll include his comments verbatim:

Dear Mr. Dart,

The domestic post card was authorized to be mailed at the same rate as government postal cards on July 1, 1898.  Post cards were of course available well before 1898, but previously they were charged the higher letter rate, not a flat 2¢.  This 1898 1¢ card rate continued until November 2, 1917 (the "war tax" increase) when the rate was effectively increased to 2¢.  On July 1, 1919, the rate was reduced back to 1¢.

However on April 15, 1925, the "postal" card rate stayed 1¢ and the "post" card rate increased to 2¢.  This condition continued until July 10, 1928, when both "postal" and "post" card were again charged 1¢.  On January 2, 1952, the card rate went to 2¢ and has been increasing every since (except as you note from September 14, 1975 to December 31, 1975 when the rate actually decreased from 8¢ to 7¢).

Most of the card rates (domestic including charges for pre-sorting and automation, and also international rates) are tabulated in the United Postal Stationery Society's 2005 United States Postal Card Catalog.

Best Regards-
Lewis Bussey,
President, UPSS


Thank you, Mr. Bussey!


Updated 9/26/2008:

Doug Hardt writes,

The "Each Additional Ounce" column is somewhat misleading in that letters are limited to 3½ ounces or less.  Ounces 2 and 3 each cost 17 cents but anything over 3 up to 3½ is another 17 cents. [Source]

Thanks, Doug!


Coin-operated stamp machines are being eliminated

Thieves Target Postal Stamp Machines.  You may have noticed easy access to stamps missing from your neighborhood postal station.  That's because crooks have turned their attention to breaking into stamp vending machines for the cash inside.

Post Office to Eliminate Stamp Machines.  Postage stamps can be purchased by mail, at the supermarket, even from many bank cash machines.  But there's one place you won't be able to get them in a few years … vending machines at the post office.  The U.S. Postal Service plans to eliminate its 23,000 vending machines by 2010, the agency said in a recent internal memo.

U.S. Postal Service removing stamp machines.  [Postmaster Rusty] Field said the Carroll Reece station on North State of Franklin Road does have an automated postal center, but it requires the use of a credit or debit card.  U.S. currency won't do at the post office automated center.  With plastic a person can also buy stamps online or over the telephone, and those who don't have anything in their wallet but cash can still wait in line and buy stamps from a postal clerk.

Stamp machines are convenient.  Many of us have had the experience:  We have a piece of mail that needs to go out immediately, so we go to the post office after normal operating hours.  Mail still can be deposited in the outer lobby — and, thank heaven, there's a machine available to sell us a stamp.  Not anymore.  The U.S. Postal Service is removing all stamp vending machines.  They're getting old and it is difficult to keep them in operation, say officials.

Stamp machines sent packing.  Postmaster Donald Hopper said the U.S. Postal Service is removing 23,000 machines nationwide by 2010.  Hopper said the postal service no longer makes new machines and maintenance costs are too high to keep them.  Local postal employee Brian Moore, who's in charge of maintaining the machines, said they account for approximately 600 transactions per week.

Postal Service removing all stamp machines.  Need stamps for those holiday cards?  Don't go to the post office, unless you're prepared to stand in line or pay with a credit card.  Stamp vending machines, where customers can buy a single 41-cent stamp or a book of stamps with coins or dollar bills, are on their way out.

The Editor says...
 That will make the long lines at the window just a little longer.


Postal News dot com.  The daily news digest of the postal world.

Union:  'A lot' of late, lost mail found by inspectors.  Postal inspectors, who are investigating delayed and missing mail and allegedly phony daily mail counts, have discovered "a lot" of late, unprocessed mail at the Southwest Philly processing plant, a postal-union president said yesterday [12/9/2008].

Postage rates are headed up, and in rural Alaska, it matters.  Postal rates are scheduled to rise nationwide in May, and that means an increase in the cost of shipping rates for bypass mail services to rural Alaska.  Postal officials say the cost of bypass mail shipping could see a 6 percent to 50 percent increase, depending on where the mail is shipped from — and where it's going.

Neighborhood mailboxes being stamped out.  If you're suddenly having trouble finding a neighborhood mailbox, you've got lots of company.  In recent weeks, one-quarter of the 3,700 collection boxes in the Los Angeles area have been removed, said Joseph L. Harrison, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service's Los Angeles district.

Postal Service Reducing Workforce, Offices as Mail Volume Falls.  The U.S. Postal Service said it will offer early retirement to about 150,000 workers, close administrative offices and eliminate more than 3,000 jobs to help resolve a financial crisis as the volume of mail declines.  Stamped mail is down to 1964 levels, officials said, contributing to a deficit that reached $2.8 billion in 2008 and is likely to be larger this year.

The Junk's in the Mail.  The number of pieces of first-class mail is steadily dropping, from 98 billion pieces in 2004 to 96 billion pieces in 2007.  Faced with a $1 billion operating deficit this year — the largest since 1995 — the Postal Service is feeling the pinch.  Now, one of the most lucrative sources of postal income, junk mail, is also under siege.

Stamp Out Monopolies.  The federal government's Bureau of Engraving and Printing has printed its last stamp for the U.S. Postal Service.  As of Friday, June 10th, 2005, no stamps will be printed by the government bureau.  The task has been completely privatized.

Balanced Postal Reform:  The Postal Service has little oversight, and virtually no accountability.  It is an independent federal agency with commercial responsibilities.  It has an annual budget of over $68 billion handling over 200 billion pieces of mail, yet it does not have to report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, comply with the Federal Trade Commission's truth-in-advertising rules, nor adhere to local government zoning and traffic regulations.  It defines the scope of its own monopoly and, in some respects, regulates its competitors.

Postal Debt Soars to $13 Billion, Stamp Prices Continue to Climb:  New poll shows the public wants a postal audit before stamp prices rise again.  CAGW Unveils "Commemorative Stamps" Asking, "Where's Our Money Going?"

The Mail Monopoly:  The big problem with the U.S. Postal Service is that it is a monopoly and that the government keeps it a monopoly by law.

Postal Service fixes long waits by removing clocks.  The missing clock didn't stop postal customer Al Cunningham from noticing the amount of time spent waiting for service.  "It's always long here," said Cunningham, 49, an insurance adjuster and former postal employee who was standing in line at the Watson Post Office in Fort Worth.

The Stalinist and the Stamp:  Why is the Postal Service honoring a commie?  If ever a stamp cried out for cancellation, it is this one.

Graphic 'borrowed' from WorldMag dot com
Stamp Out the Rate Hikes.  Postal regulators have accepted a proposal from media giant Time Warner that would stifle small and independent publishers in America.  The plan unfairly burdens smaller publishers with higher postage rates while locking in special privileges for bigger media companies.

Editor's note:
If you click on this graphic, you will be taken to a web page about resisting postage rate increases.  If you explore the rest of their web site, you will see that they disagree with me about everything else.  Even so, I'm willing to assist them on this one issue.  As you may know, there is no paid advertising on akdart.com.  Whenever you see a graphic like this, and it links to an external site, it is provided as a public service.

Book:  The Last Monopoly:  Privatizing the Postal Service for the Information Age:  edited by Edward L. Hudgins, Washington, D.C.:  Cato Institute, 1996, 138 pp.  "The check is in the mail" was once an excuse you gave your creditors when your bill was past due.  In recent years, however, it's been more likely than ever to be the truth.  In an age where an hour can mean the difference between a closed deal and a closed door, what once may have been an acceptable delivery time for the post office just won't cut it anymore.


 Editor's Comments:   The sheer volume of the US Mail is rather astonishing.  But the Postal Service brings this burden upon itself by handling unsolicited junk mail at reduced rates, which leads to lower profits for them and more junk mail for us.  There is one good thing to say about email spam and pop-up ads on the internet:  They have made paper junk mail less economical.

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Updated June 15, 2009.

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